Strength training is becoming a popular area of exercise as more people change to healthier lifestyles. In the past, to accomplish strength training for multiple areas of the body often required the use of several different exercise machines. The need to utilize several different exercise machines often limited availability of strength training machines to gyms due to the cost of the various machines and the space needed to house the machines. People wanting to take advantage of the health benefits of strength training for multiple areas of the body normally had to join a gym. Using equipment at a gym requires exercising in public and at the hours dictated by the gym and use of the machines by others.
Multi-purpose gym systems such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,689,023 were developed to allow people to perform strength training exercise in the privacy of their own homes. The multi-purpose gym allows multiple strength training exercises with one machine, significantly reducing the amount of space needed in a home to accommodate the equipment. But the multi-purpose gym systems are still large and heavy. The size and weight of the systems discourage the average user from moving the system around the home if space needs change. The same problems have occurred in regard to exercise treadmills. Many people want treadmills in their home for convenience but are then left with an unsightly piece of equipment in their home that is also a potential for injury to children and pets when not in use.
Storing exercise equipment in a cabinet is well-known as a way to improve the aesthetic appearance and space needed when not in use and to protect children and pets. U.S. Pat. No. 5,718,657 discloses a treadmill that pivots into a cabinet. U.S. Pat. No. 332,989 also discloses a cabinet with a hinged door to conceal exercise equipment. The disadvantages with the cabinets disclosed is that they are all made to sit next to a vertical wall and take up considerable floor space when in use and even when not in use because of the required positioning to accommodate the equipment.
Therefore, what is needed is a multi-use exercise apparatus that may be enclosed to conceal the exercise equipment and reduce the likelihood of injury to children and pets when not in use and to take up a minimal amount of usable floor space when in use as well as when it is being stored.